DOUBLE DECK EPFL ESPLANADE DOME

DOUBLE DECK
EPFL ESPLANADE DOME

LAUSANNE
SWITZERLAND, 2023-2027

EDUCATION

PR–660

Named “Double Deck,” the project reinvents the esplanade plaza at the heart of the campus by raising the ground level to accommodate new modular lecture halls seating between 200 and 500 people, which are essential to the university’s development.

PROGRAM

The Double Deck comprises a new building housing modular auditoriums seating between 200 and 500 people and informal workspaces, replacing the former underground parking lot on the campus’s landscaped esplanade. This project is accompanied by the extensive renovation of the historic Coupole building, constructed in the late 1970s by Bernard Vouga and his associates Jean-Pierre Cahen and Michel-Robert Weber.

DETAIL

Situation

Campus de l’EPFL, Route cantonale, Lausanne, Switzerland

Year

2023-2027

Status

International competition, winning project

Site area

12 600 m²

Project area

17 600 m²

Area of the public esplanade

4 800 m²

Project management

École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne

Associate architect

Itten+Brechbühl SA

Design offices

T Ingénierie, Tecnoservice Engineering, Sorane, Fire Safety & Engineering, D’silence Acoustique, Emmer Pfenninger Partner, De Cérenville, Lama, Renaud Burnand

Interior architect and design

Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost

DESCRIPTION

This infiltration of the ground and its vegetated extension transform the site into a vast plaza that is also a garden and a belvedere, a new public space offering views of the Alps and the surrounding landscape. The two levels created, giving a new purpose to the former underground parking facilities, incorporate additional bike paths and pedestrian walkways. This strategy redefines the site’s topography, blurring the boundary between above and below, providing a peaceful and lively campus center.

EN SAVOIR PLUS

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DOUBLE DECK: CONFERENCE AT EPFL, LAUSANNE

Lecture given on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1975 graduating class.

“It’s not about building one building, then another, but rather a large-scale architectural ensemble that gives urban coherence and a new heart to the EPFL site.” – Dominique Perrault

START OF CONSTRUCTION ON THE DOUBLE DECK PROJECT AT THE SWISS FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IN LAUSANNE

Construction 06.2025

Since June 2025, preparatory work for the “Double Deck” project has been underway at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Keen to support the excellence of its teaching, research, and innovation, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne has been developing its campus layout, a project we have been involved in since the 2000s.